DOE Releases GATEWAY Report on Museum Demonstration

September 19, 2011

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the final evaluation report from a retrofit of track lighting used to illuminate a special gallery exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon. During the demonstration, 12W LED PAR38 lamps replaced 90W halogen PAR38 130V narrow flood lamps used for accent lighting, and a separate side-by-side comparison of three different LED PAR38 replacement lamps against the museum’s standard halogen lamp was also staged. This GATEWAY demonstration report describes the process for the demonstration, the energy and economic results, and survey results from the PAR38 lamp comparison.

Key findings include:

Using only 14% of the energy and having a life ten times longer than the halogen lamp, the LED system has a present value life-cycle cost of $12,124, compared to $16,670 for the halogen system.

A total of 54 track heads lamped with the LED lamps would use 1403 kWh per year compared to 9851 kWh for the estimated number of halogen lamps required for the same lighting effect. At the melded electrical rate of $0.06 per kWh, this translates to a savings of $506.84 per year for the gallery.

Simple payback occurs in year 9 of operation at the $0.06 per kWh rate. At $0.10 per kWh, simple payback drops to less than 6 years; at $0.15 per kWh, payback occurs in less than 4 years. Payback rates are expected to improve further as the industry works to reduce the price of LED replacement lamps.

During the PAR38 lamp comparison, museum staff showed different preferences than visitors, but neither group clearly preferred the halogen option. Preferences did not correspond to color rendering index (CRI) values, since both preferred lamps had CRI values lower than the halogen lamp.

For more details, view the full report. This lighting demonstration is one of many DOE GATEWAY demonstrations that showcase high-performance LED products for general illumination. Learn more about the DOE GATEWAY demonstration program.